July 7 - Uxmal and Sabancuy

Monday July 7th

Our journey continued today with a visit to Uxmal. The name Uxmal comes from the Mayan word "Ux," meaning harvest and "mal," meaning number of times. This refers to the place of plentiful harvests. Our phenomenal tour guide, Antonio, led us through the complex with vast amounts of information. One fascinating point was how the Mayans devised ingenious methods for storing and extracting water from artificial underground pits. The Mayans in this area had to rely on the rainy season because they had no cenotes, water holes, as other areas of the Yucatan had and in addition, the water table was too low in this area for drilling. Each of these cisterns held enough water to supply 20-25 people for a year.

The main structure at Uxmal is the Pyramid of the Magician which stands 114 feet tall. It is an unusual Mayan pyramid as it has an oval shape. The stairway is flanked by two rows of twelve Chaac masks with a 13th as the entrance to the Chenes temple. This pyramid has four temples, one on top of the other. The rain god, Chaac, was very important here.

Along the way we were greeted by interesting wildlife. Numbers of iguanas were basking in the sun seemingly oblivious to the tourists. In addition, we were treated by a visit of the Mot Mot bird which has a beautiful long turquoise tail.

From the main pyramid we entered the nuns quadrangle, so named because it looked like nunnery cloisters to the explorer. Here we could see intricate stone carvings and a Mayan arch. Their arch does not use a keystone. Instead, it used a series of boot-shaped stones cantilevered one over the other.

Climbing once again we reached the governor´s palace and the tortoise temple. Our legs have truly discovered that Mayan steps are high and steep. They can present quite a challenge; however, it was worth it. The Tortoise Temple has many carved tortoises on the façade which represent long life and water to the Mayans. Sacrifices were brought here. An interesting feature of the Governor´s Palace was the top section of the front of the building. Because the top section was slanted forward, on the summer solstice the Chaac masks below are in shadow except for the noses which stick out further than the rest. Once again, we saw the mathematical expertise of the Mayans. Their calculations were quite impressive.

As we made our way back to the entrance we hurried to the gift/bookstore. You could quickly tell that a group of teachers had arrived. All the chatter and the number of purchases quickly made, certainly made it clear.

Now we board the bus, hot and sweaty, for our journey to Palenque. We rode for miles through Mexican countryside passing through small villages along the way. Men working on cars, people sitting in cantinas (bars), women walking home from markets and children playing – it was all a sight for our senses. The ride even included crossing a cow bridge and being stopped by armed guards while they walked around the bus with a wand of some type. Thankfully, we were quickly allowed to move along.

The long hours on the bus ticked by and we finally stopped for lunch at Sabancuy Beach. What better way to spend a leisurely meal than to be seated under the pavilion by the sea with our toes in the sand! A few went swimming and others walked the beach gathering treasures to take home. Ugh! It´s now back to the bus for more hours on our drive. At last we arrive at our destination of the Chan Kah resort village only to discover we had truly entered the rain forest. Vines and jungle plants greeted us everywhere. Jacques warned us to not be surprised in the morning because the Howler monkeys would wake us up with their calls. What adventures wait for us in the morning? Whatever they may be, we are so privileged to be a part of this amazing journey!

Submitted by Diane, Grade 6, St. Edwards-Epiphany School